With the bounty of local fruits and vegetables this season also comes locally-grown flowers, available at farmers markets and through CSA farms. Beautiful and vivid flowers of all kinds are grown without fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Brighten up your home with some local flowers!

Strawberries are Here!

Late spring marks the arrival of strawberry season in our region. One cup of strawberries contains 149 percent of your daily allowance for calcium, and 12 percent of daily fiber.

Make This

Photo: Iain Bagwell/GettyImages

Easy mini-ice cream sandwiches:

Purchase small, chewy chocolate chip cookies, chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Allow ice cream to soften slightly; then scoop onto one cookie. Press another on top, and place on a plate in the freezer. Freeze for 2 hours, then wrap individually or eat.

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.”

— Paul Prudhomme

Photo: Barbara Lutterbeck/GettyImages

Flower Treats

Did you know that many flowers are edible? That you can easily plant and harvest flowers in your own backyard? Simply pick the flowers, rinse well, and gently blot dry with a tea towel. Here are some uses:

Impatiens: garnish a salad with these delicate and colorful leaves.

Pansies: toss the leaves with salad greens and chives for a fresh, earthy taste.

Roses: Rose petals are beautiful on cakes or floating on iced drinks.

Dandelion: This much-maligned flowering plant is delicious in salads. Add the young leaves to salads. Mature leaves can be blanched and eaten like any other bitter green.